Gary Wilson may have been Ireland’s head coach for only a matter of weeks, but the former international wicketkeeper insists his preparations for the position began long before the vacancy arose.

Wilson has stepped up from his role as assistant coach following the departure of Heinrich Malan and will begin the latest chapter of his career with a five-match one-day international series against Afghanistan at Bready.

It has been a hectic opening month, but also the realisation of a long-held ambition.

“It’s been a busy month, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” said Wilson. “You don’t just take over something and then away you go. It was something I always thought I would like to do in the future. Over the last number of months and years, I’ve had my little notebook at the side with some of the things I would like to implement. It has been an exciting time and a busy time, but it has been brilliant.”

Wilson makes no attempt to disguise how much he wanted the role. Having worked closely with Malan, he had been open with both his predecessor and Cricket Ireland about his ambitions.

“I’m not going to make any bones about it,” he said. “Everyone who knows me would know this was a job I wanted. I was very open with Cricket Ireland and with Heinrich about that. I had a great relationship with Heinrich and I’ve been on record many times thanking him for what he did for me over the last couple of years.

“What he allowed me to do within the group put me in the best possible position to be where I am now.”

There was no formal handover when Malan’s departure and Wilson’s appointment followed in quick succession. Instead, the transition developed naturally from their close working relationship.

“Heinrich and I worked very closely together and we were very tight in the way we worked,” Wilson explained.

“It happened organically rather than through a sit-down debrief or official handover. We spoke a few times, went out for dinner and chatted about things as coaches do.

“I had already been involved in the conversations and the way he ran things because I was his main assistant.”

Wilson also believes his experiences under a succession of highly regarded coaches have helped shape his own methods.

“I’ve been really lucky in my career to work with some of the best head coaches and communicators the game has seen,” he said.

“People like Graham Ford, Phil Simmons and Alec Stewart have helped mould the way I will go about things, while I also learned from the way Heinrich did the job over four years.

“I’d like to think I have a pretty well-rounded view of how I believe it should be done.”

The move from assistant to head coach has already brought a change in dynamics. Wilson acknowledged that relationships inevitably alter when ultimate responsibility for selection and performance rests on one person’s shoulders.

“It is certainly a different dynamic,” he admitted. “I’m well aware that your relationships with people change.

“We’ve already had to have difficult conversations with some guys that I wouldn’t previously have been part of. But I had hoped this day would come and I had been planning for it.”

Wilson assumes control with confidence within the Irish camp lifted by two memorable Twenty20 victories over India.

Those results generated considerable attention beyond the traditional cricket audience, something Wilson believes could prove almost as significant as the victories themselves.

“The biggest thing about the games against India was hopefully the interaction and engagement from the public,” he said.

“A lot of the cricket-playing public in Northern Ireland and Ireland would already have been aware of the team, but hopefully it brought some new faces to the game and put cricket on the map for a period of time.

“Within the group, we have always believed those sorts of days are achievable. If you had said before the series that we were going to beat India 2-0, you might have got some funny looks.

“But there is a genuine belief within the group that those days are possible.”

Paul Stirling will return to captain Ireland in the 50-over series, and Wilson has been particularly encouraged by the veteran batter’s form and enthusiasm.

“He has been so engaged over the last three or four weeks and he is probably playing as well as I’ve ever seen him play,” said Wilson.

“I don’t want to put pressure on him, so I’ll touch a bit of wood, but he is batting as nicely as I’ve seen him bat in a while.

“To have someone with that amount of experience back is a huge boost. He is Ireland’s most-capped sportsman, so he would be a major addition to any team.”

One of Wilson’s first acts after receiving the job was to meet Stirling and establish whether the 35-year-old still had the appetite to lead the side into another important period.

“I met him straight away and double-checked whether he had the energy and engagement to go again,” Wilson said.

“I spoke about what I would need from him and he was absolutely all in. He told me that whatever route I wanted to go, he would row in behind me.

“To get that from him was fantastic because I know we can move forward together and take the team to some great places.”

While Wilson was reluctant to reveal the finer details of his plans against Afghanistan, he did outline a desire to play positively and maintain a wicket-taking threat throughout the innings.

Ireland are considering selecting an additional batter or batting all-rounder, rather than automatically fielding five frontline bowlers.

“We want to be aggressive, be on the front foot and take wickets,” he said.

“We are looking at playing an attacking threat with spin through the middle overs. There may be times when we play only one spinner, but we want to provide a threat throughout the innings whenever possible.

“We think we may go with an extra batter or batting all-rounder. It could be a top six with a batting all-rounder at seven.

“There will be times when that puts us under pressure, but we believe the positives will outweigh the negatives.”

Wilson described the approach as a hybrid rather than a complete departure from the strategy used during Malan’s tenure.

The revised ODI playing conditions, under which only one ball will be used after the 35th over, have also influenced Ireland’s thinking.

“It is probably a small shift in the way we will go about things, partly because of the ball change,” Wilson explained.

“We believe that will have an impact on the way ODI cricket is played. Most teams around the world would not now go with five out-and-out bowlers.

“On flatter wickets and quicker outfields, we believe reverse swing could become more important. We want a bowling attack that is threatening up front, has a spin threat through the middle and also includes a point-of-difference bowler.”

Ireland will face an Afghanistan side ranked above them and containing players with extensive experience in franchise competitions around the world.

Wilson has considerable respect for their development but is more concerned with raising Ireland’s level than comparing the two countries.

“They are a fantastic side and they have players competing in leagues all around the world,” he said.

“Cricket is almost everything in terms of sport in their country and that is a major factor.

“The way I would sum it up is to say well done to them, but our focus has to be on how we can do things better.

“It is not necessarily just about moving up the rankings. It is about producing more big performances and making those performances as consistent as possible.”

The series has attracted controversy, with protests expected over the treatment of women under Afghanistan’s Taliban regime.

Wilson acknowledged the widespread unease but said his responsibility was to prepare Ireland to face an opponent that remains a full member of the International Cricket Council.

“There would be a huge amount of discomfort among everyone involved about what is happening in Afghanistan,” he said.

“Ultimately, my job is to prepare the team. Afghanistan are a full member of the ICC and are not banned from ICC competitions.

“As far as I’m concerned, it is about getting on the pitch and getting the job done.”

Wilson will be without assistant coach Ryan Eagleson, who recently underwent surgery and is due to have a further review.

Former Ireland fast bowler Boyd Rankin has been brought into the coaching team for the Afghanistan series.